Locally Owned & Operated
Handcrafted Live Edge Furniture Built One Piece at a Time
Proudly Serving Pittsburgh, PA
Woodworking in Pittsburgh, PA
Handcrafted Woodworking Built for Pittsburgh Homes and Businesses
Looking for a skilled woodworker in Pittsburgh, PA to create something that cannot be found in a furniture showroom? Donovan Woodworking creates handcrafted furniture and custom wood pieces designed around your space, your ideas, and the natural character of real hardwood.
Our specialty is handcrafted live edge epoxy river tables, but our woodworking goes well beyond tables. We create live edge benches, traditional hardwood tables, cabinets, fireplace mantels, floating shelves, and other custom woodworking projects.
Every piece is made individually rather than mass-produced. We take the time to understand what you want to build, select materials that suit the project, and use careful woodworking techniques to create furniture that is beautiful, functional, and made to last.
Based in East Pittsburgh at 425 Highland Avenue, Donovan Woodworking proudly serves customers throughout Pittsburgh and surrounding communities.
Ready to discuss your project? Call (412) 593-6444.
Custom Woodworking With a Focus on Craftsmanship
Custom woodworking gives you something that standard furniture cannot always provide: the ability to create a piece around your actual needs.
Maybe you need a dining table that fits a specific room. Perhaps you want a live edge bench to complement an existing table. You may be looking for a fireplace mantel with a particular character or custom cabinets designed around your home’s layout.
Whatever the project, the process starts with understanding what you want the finished piece to accomplish.
At Donovan Woodworking, we consider the dimensions, intended use, design preferences, wood selection, and natural characteristics of the material before construction begins. This allows each project to be approached as an individual piece rather than another item on an assembly line.
The result is woodworking that feels personal because it was made specifically for you.
Live Edge Epoxy River Tables in Pittsburgh
Our Signature Woodworking Specialty
Live edge epoxy river tables are at the heart of what we love to build.
These tables combine natural hardwood slabs with carefully selected epoxy to create a distinctive centerpiece for a home, office, conference room, or other space. The natural edge of the wood remains part of the design, while the epoxy creates the “river” between the slabs.
Every tree grows differently, so every slab brings something different to the project. Grain patterns, knots, natural edges, color variations, and other characteristics help determine the final appearance of the table.
We can create custom live edge epoxy river tables in sizes and styles suited to your space. Whether you’re looking for a dining table, conference table, coffee table, or another statement piece, the goal is to let the wood guide the design while creating furniture that works for everyday life.
Explore Our Live Edge Epoxy River Tables
Other Custom Woodworking in Pittsburgh
While live edge furniture is our specialty, Donovan Woodworking creates a variety of handcrafted wood products for residential and commercial spaces.
Custom Cabinets
Custom cabinets provide an opportunity to create storage around your specific space instead of adapting your room to standard cabinetry. We build handcrafted cabinets with attention to dimensions, layout, wood selection, and overall design.
Custom Woodworking Projects
Have an idea that doesn’t fit one of these categories? We welcome custom woodworking projects that require an individual approach. Bring us your idea, inspiration, measurements, or even a simple description of what you need, and we can discuss the possibilities.
Live Edge Benches
A live edge bench can complement a custom dining table or serve as a distinctive piece in an entryway, mudroom, bedroom, or other space. Each bench preserves the natural character of the selected hardwood while being built for practical use.
Floating Shelves
Custom floating shelves combine useful storage with the warmth of natural hardwood. Each shelf can be designed around your preferred dimensions and the style of the room.
Fireplace Mantels
A handcrafted hardwood mantel can become the focal point of a living room or family room. Donovan Woodworking creates custom mantels that can showcase natural wood character while complementing the style and proportions of your fireplace.
Traditional & Slab Tables
Not every project needs a live edge design. We also create traditional hardwood dining tables, coffee tables, end tables, and other furniture for customers who prefer a more classic appearance.
Why Choose a Local Pittsburgh Woodworker?
Reclaiming Wood That Might Otherwise Be Lost
Working with a local woodworker gives you the opportunity to communicate directly with the person creating your furniture.
Instead of selecting from mass-produced sizes and finishes, you can discuss the details that matter to your project. You can explain how you plan to use the furniture, share your design preferences, and work through practical considerations before construction begins.
For custom furniture, that conversation matters.
Donovan Woodworking is located in East Pittsburgh, making it convenient for customers in Pittsburgh and nearby communities to work with a local craftsman. Every project receives individual attention, from material selection through the final woodworking and finishing.
Our focus is not on producing the largest number of pieces. It is on producing work we are proud to put our name on.
From Natural Wood to Finished Furniture
The Material Helps Shape the Design
One of the things that makes woodworking different from manufactured furniture is the material itself.
Natural hardwood is not perfectly uniform. Grain direction changes, knots appear, colors vary, and live edges follow the shape of the original tree. These characteristics are not problems to hide. They can become some of the most interesting parts of a finished piece.
For live edge furniture, the slab itself often becomes the starting point for the design.
We look at the wood, consider its natural features, and determine how it can best be used. The finished furniture then combines those natural qualities with careful measuring, cutting, joinery, sanding, finishing, and construction.
This approach allows the final piece to retain a connection to the tree while serving a practical purpose in your home or business.
A Woodworker Who Learned the Craft From Family
Woodworking is not simply a business for Donovan Woodworking. It is a craft that was learned over many years.
The owner of Donovan Woodworking spent 43 years working as a Registered Nurse while operating the woodworking business part time. After retiring from hospice nursing in 2025, woodworking became a full-time pursuit.
The craft was also shaped by family. As the eldest son and grandson of two men who knew how to work many different trades, he grew up helping with projects and learning by doing. He was often the person holding the other end of the board or pipe while watching and learning from two craftsmen who were known for being perfectionists.
Those experiences helped develop an appreciation for patience, precision, problem-solving, and doing a job correctly.
Today, those same principles go into every woodworking project created at Donovan Woodworking.
Serving Pittsburgh and Surrounding Communities
Donovan Woodworking is located at 425 Highland Avenue in East Pittsburgh, PA 15112, and serves customers throughout Pittsburgh and surrounding areas.
If you’re searching for a woodworker in Pittsburgh, PA for a custom live edge table, handcrafted furniture, cabinets, mantel, bench, shelving, or another woodworking project, we’d be happy to hear what you have in mind.
Some projects begin with a detailed plan. Others begin with a photograph, a piece of wood, or an idea that still needs to be developed.
Either way, the first step is simply a conversation.
Call Donovan Woodworking at (412) 593-6444 to discuss your project.
Frequently Asked Questions
Donovan Woodworking specializes in handcrafted live edge epoxy river tables and live edge furniture. We also create benches, cabinets, fireplace mantels, floating shelves, traditional hardwood tables, and other custom woodworking projects.
Yes. Custom furniture is built around the customer’s space, intended use, design preferences, and material selection. Donovan Woodworking serves customers in Pittsburgh and surrounding communities from our East Pittsburgh location.
Yes. Custom live edge tables can be designed around the available space, desired dimensions, seating requirements, wood selection, and overall style of the room.
The appropriate wood depends on the project and the desired appearance. Hardwood slabs can offer distinctive grain patterns, natural edges, knots, and color variations that make each finished piece unique.
Yes. Although live edge epoxy river tables are our specialty, we also build live edge benches, traditional hardwood tables, cabinets, fireplace mantels, floating shelves, and other custom woodworking projects.